So my internship at the DAAD has ended and now I am left with the heavy task of figuring out if I will be able to find a job here. I’m honestly beyond stressed out and wondering if all of this is going to be worth it in the end, and that is if I actually find employment. First, I haven’t found that many job announcements that will work with my degree or my current German skill level, although I am trying to improve the latter. And second, the feedback I have gotten from jobs I have applied to, write back stating that I don’t have that one special skill they were looking for such as, web design, and that is if they do write back at all. Frustrating!

In about two weeks I’m going to have negative money in my bank account so I am trying to figure out something I can do in the meantime. I met with a nice girl from Australia a couple weeks ago and she told me that she and her boyfriend have been teaching business English in Köln, and they love it. I really never thought that I would go back to teaching English once my China-gap year ended, but now it now seems like a great idea, and I have lots of experience with it. However, I am finding out that it also isn’t going to be as easy as just finding a company to hire me.

Confusing rules

All of the companies I have contacted work by freelance. As I am still incredibly confused about how this works in Germany, and the laws surrounding it, I don’t feel comfortable saying too much about it, except it can be a long and painful process to get a freelance visa. I have been informed that the German government has rules that specify that if you work freelance then you can’t take all your jobs from just one company. This is because if you actually became employed by one company they have to pay heavy taxes on you so that you will get benefits, such as health insurance and social security; this is why many companies decide to go freelance instead.  So now I might have to find multiple companies to give me work.

Also, I am going to have to get all of this approved by the ausländeramt.  My ausländeramt, I always meet with the same man, has known that I have been seeking employment for the past four months, but has only just now decided to inform me that I might have to go back to the US to get a work visa because I came here on a tourist visa, even though I got this changed to an intern visa twice! Also, if I am able to impress these two free-lance companies enough to hire me, then I am still going to have to wait almost two months to get this approved by the government before I even start working – that is if they don’t make me go home to get a visa change first. Again, do you understand what I mean when I say frustrating!

Most importantly right now, I am just trying to stay positive because I really do want to be in Germany! I know that other foreigners here are going through this process too. Neither you nor I are alone. I’ll keep you updated on my ever changing status and promise good, fun news in the next post. In between my internship ending and the beginning of this intense job search, I took a small one week holiday to Berlin, and it was brilliant! Next post, will be all about Berlin!

Find out all you need to know about searching for a job in Germany with Young Germany’s series of articles on “Landing a job in Germany”